Color packaging



L. L. SALFiSEERG COLOR PACKAGING Dec. 6, 1938.

Original Filed May 24, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet l mmv-mie.

LEROY LSALHSBERG BYQ l E www x am. \4\ m QW] y w album Dec. 6, 1938. L. l.. sALFlsBERG COLOR PACKAGING Original Filed May 24, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 E?. EME

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INVENTOR.

LEROY L SALFSBERG BYQmolamBSo/Quk@ A TTORNEY Dec. 6, 1938. L. L. SALFISBERG COLOR PACKAGING Original Filed May 24, 1935 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENmR. BY lnov L. SALFISBERG A TTORNEY Patented Dec. 6, 1938 COLOR PACKAGING Leroy L. S'liisberg, South Orange, N. J., assigner to Ivers-Lee Company, Newark, N. I., a corporation oi Delaware Original application May 24, 1935, Serial No.

23,330. Divided and this application November 18, 1937, Serial No. 175,243

Claims.

This invention pertains in general to packaging means and speciiically relates to an arrangement providing color and other effects in the packaging of commodities, this being a division of my application for Patent No. 2,103,386 dated December 28, 1937.

vOne oi the objects of this invention consists in the provision of a composite form of package to give artistic and colorful effects to such coinmodity package.

Another object comprises providing a mechanical system for utilizing an oxidation process to form sealing areas for packages and means for inserting and sealing materials of various composition and colors in said package to provide color and indicia eifects.

Another object of this invention comprises providinga package forming indicia marking and colored material incorporating machine comprising, means for supplying and feeding opposed layers of packaging material with additional color material inserts and package forming means for joining said layers and inserts in bonding areas to produce commodity enclosures with color effects.

Another object of the invention consists in providing a method for producing color effects in a package oi' regenerated cellulose material which comprises combining an insert of colored material of predetermined shape and size with a strip of packaging material, after the strip has passed through indicia forming rollers, feeding the strip to a second set of heated crimping rollers having complementary bonding areas of predetermined conguration, forming a bond between the color and indicia marked strip and another strip of cellulose material by an oxidizatio'n process.

Another object of the invention comprises providing a mechanical structure having means for feeding separate pieces of color material to crimping rollers and utilizing a vacuum or suction system contained Within the said crimping rollers to combine the color inserts with strip packaging material by a crimping and oxidization process.

These and other objects will be apparent from the following, reference being had to the accompanying drawings in which like reference numerals designate corresponding parts and in which:

Fig. 1 is a representation of one embodiment of a mechanical system according to the present invention;

Fig. 1a is a top view oi an insert reservoir used in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view of a mechanical arrangement employed for providing color effects in a packaging process;

Fig. 3 is a iront view of a roller shown in the representation of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 4--4 of Fig. 2 showing the air suction channel;

Fig. 5 is a representation of a strip of packaging material as used in the mechanical arrangement of Fig. 1, showing successive steps of the fabrication process;

Fig. 6 is a view of a package unit constructed in accordance with the invention bearing indicia markings;

Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the package unit of Fig. 6; and

Fig. 8 is similar to Fig. 7 but 'employing two colored packaging material insertions, one on each side of the package.

The invention contemplates the preferable use of transparent regenerated cellulose material of ribbon formation fed through a plurality of rollers for operating on the material in a plurality of oxidization treatments under pressure to produce a composite package. According to one embodiment o1' the invention, cellulose material is subjected to an oxidization marking step for producing various indicia on the material. This indicia may be in the form of advertising, serial numbers, letters, special trade mark designs or other configurations. In another step, the material thus provided with indicia markings is combined with a color strip and is formed to enclose the article with a seal, the seal being produced by further oxidization of the material.

The package produced according to this invention utilizes a regenerated cellulose material of a normally tough and wiry nature to produce article enclosing envelopes of a resilient nature resistive to tearing and having the necessary strength to properly retain the commodity articles in sealed and sanitary segregation. This envelope is formed by surrounding the packaged article with sealing areas in which the material is joined together in an inseparable bond sub- Jected to an oxidization process wherein the physiochemical nature of the cellulose material is altered to become brittle and easily torn, in contradistinction with the normally tough and wiry nature of the cellulose material.

Referring to the drawings in detail, Figs. 1 and 2 show a portion of a packaging machine according to the invention. A roll of regenerated cellulose material I of strip formation is provided upon the spindle 2. The regenerated cellulose material, which is provided with a fusible coating, isl initially of a toughand wiry nature and is substantially transparent to light. A leader 3 extends from the roll I and is fed over idler rollers 4, I and 8, the spindle 2 and the idler rollers 4, l and 3 being suitably mounted on a frame. From idler roller 8 the leader strip 3 extends into the article feeding and package forming equipment. The commodity articles 25 are fed into the packaging equipment from a suitable article feeding mechanism 62, such as disclosed in my copending application Serial No.

748,846, filed October 18, 1934, now Patent No. 2,083,617 issued June 15, 1937.

Another leader strip 3b 'similar to leader strip 3 passes over idler roller 'I and proceeds from equipment which may be similar to the equipment on the right hand side of Fig. 2 for handling leader strip 3. The package forming equipment consists, in part, of a pair of rollers 8 and I0. These rollers are mounted upon shafts extending through suitable bearings in a supporting boss I I. These shafts have a hollow portion co-extensive in length with the rollers 8 and I0 in which heatercartridges I2 are provided. Suitable terminal units I3 are provided for supplying electrical energy to the heater cartridges I2. Y

'Ihe roller 8 is provided with a peripheral row of recesses I4 while the roller I0 is provided with a peripheral row of recesses I 5. In the peripheral surfaces surrounding these recesses the rollers 8 and III are provided with crimping surfaces or areas I6. These crimping surfaces are mechanically complementary to each other so that the crimping surface of the roller 8 meshes and engages with the crimping surface of the roller I to produce a forced interdigitation of the cellulose material fed therebetween effecting a crisscross formation. In rotation of the rollers 8 and I0, the recesses I4 oi' the roller 8 coincide with the recesses I5 of the roller I0, so that the commodity articles are held therebetween in a proper positioning effect without crushing, while the crimping surfaces join the opposed layers of packaging material in crimped bonding areas surrounding these articles. 'Ihis forced interdigitation process between the crimped areas is accompanied by a heating process due to the heating cartridges I2 which cause the oxidation of the coated cellulose material within a range higher than that required to produce mere adherence of the material and less than that which would produce crumbling of the material, thereby producing an embrlttled structure.- The shafts supporting rollers 8 and III are provided with gears which engage with one another and cause the complementary rotation of the roller 8 and I0 in opposed directions. These shafts may be coupled through suitable gearing with an electric motor and also with other equipment in the packaging machine, such as the article feeding mechanism, the color paper and indicia producing rollers, to operate in timed relationship.

The rollers 8 and Il! are provided with a plurality of stripper fingers 23 and 24 which may be secured to a boss on the general mounting structure. 'Ihese stripper fingers are positioned in annular slots in the rollers so as to occupy positions behind the indicia markings on the rollers. The purpose of these stripper fingers 23 and 24 is to guide the packaging material into and out of the rollers 8 and I3 and particularly to avoid a tendency of the packaging material to wrap around the rollers. These stripping lingers may be provided on all the rollers in this packaging mechanism for this purpose as required.

Indicia rollers Il and I8 are carried on shafts 2|. 'I'he surface of the roller I1 is provided with raised indicia marking elements 22 which in the present instance, by way of illustration, correspond to the letter L, but numerals of any special insignia may be substituted. Corresponding indicia elements are provided on the-roller Il, and the indicia elements of both rollers, although raised with reference to the peripheries of the rollers, are provided with complementary crimping surfaces so that cellulose material fed therebetween is embossed with the desired character. 'I'he shafts of these rollers are mounted with suitable gears in a frame. 'I'hese shafts are hollow and are provided with heater cartridges as well as a commutator arrangement for delivering electrical energy thereto as described later in connection with further rollers.

Above the packaging material leader strip 3 and in line with the roller I8, there is mounted the roller I1 which is substantially similar to the roller I8 with the exception that the indicia markings Aprovided thereon are mechanical complements of the indicia markings of roller I8 as before pointed out. As the leader 3 is fed between these rollers there is produced a forced indicia interdigitation of the strip 3, while at the same time heating the desired portion to produce an oxidization sufficient to change the physiochemical character of the material to alter the index of refraction in the area forming the indicia marking.

Still referring to Fig. 1, there is provided a pair of rollers 26a and s6 which combine several functions in their action and will now be considered in detail. Each of these rollers is provided with a. row of peripheral projections 21,' and, in the present representation there are four such projections provided on each roller. It will be understood, of course, that the number of recesses and rows of recesses may be varied to meet various packaging requirements. Recesses 28 are centrally disposed in the projections 21. In the areas immediately surrounding the recesses 28 on the rollers 28a and 28, there are provided cross-hatched and projecting crimping surfaces. 'I'he crimping surfaces of the rollers 26a and 26 are complementary to each other and mesh with one another to produce an interdigitation of the layer of packaging material in circular formation.

'I'he rollers 26a and 26 are secured upon shafts 3|! and 3| which are rotatably molmted through bearings in the boss 32, as shown in Fig. 2. Re-

ferring to Fig. 2, it will be seen that the shaft 3i is hollow for a portion of its length co-extensive with roller 26. In this hollow portion a heater cartridge 33 is provided which includes a resistance element for heating the roller 28 to a temperature sufficient to cause oxidization and a physiochemical change vin the regenerated cellulose packaging material when in contact therewith. At the outer extremity of the shaft 3I an insulating element 34 is provided with collector rings which connect with opposite terminals of the heater cartridge 3 3. The collector rings on the element 34 are engaged by contact brushes respectively carried by a terminal mounting 35 secured to the boss 32 by mounting element 36. The terminal mounting 35 is provided with suitable leads so that electric energy may be supplied in the proper amount to the-heater element internal of the roller 28. 'Ihe roller 28a rollers 26a and 26, the shafts 36 and 3| are provided with gears as shown in dotted line in Fig. 1. 'Ihese two gears engagereach other so as to cause the rotation of the rollers 26 and a in timed relationship with respect to other moving parts of the packaging machine and with respect to each other in a manner such that the recesses 23 coincide with each other as the rollers 26a and 26 are rotated in opposite directions. The crimping surfaces of the rollers 26a and 26 then mesh with each other in a complementary fashion to cause. a forced interdigitation of the material fed therebetween.

Referring to Fig. 2, in the recesses of the roller 26a there are provided drilled openings 31 connecting with a transverse drilling 33 extending through the hub 4I of roller 25a. A semi-circular channel 4I, as shown in Fig. 4, is cut into a disk 42 mounted on the boss 32. A pipe 46 connects channel 4I with a suitable vacuum system, such as a pump. As the -roller 26 is revolved with respect to the disk 42, inthe direction of the arrow in Fig. 4, the`openings 33 come successively into communication with the channel 4I, two at a time. Referring back to Fig. 1, a reservoir 41 is provided beneath the roller 26. This reservoir 41 is filled with a stack of colored paper inserts 52. In the present instance, these inserts 52 are round and composed of colored paper, although they may be of different shapes and material. The top of the reservoir 41 is provided with a pair of. springs 48 and a lip 50. A resiliently operated plunger 5I operates through the reservoir to urge the stack of inserts 52 in an upward .direction against the springs 48. When one of the projections 21 passes over the top of the reservoir 41, a suction action is produced due to communication of the openings 33 with the channel 4I, as before pointed out. This suction action causes the top insert to become attached to the proximate projection 21. 'I'he rotation of the roller 26 `then moves this insert 52 from beneath the springs 43 and over the lip 56. This insert 52 is then carried around to a position diametrically opposed whereupon the insert is forcibly interdigitated with the strip 3 under pressure and heat. As soon as the insert is brought into this interdigitating position, the suction action is automatically cut oil.' due to rotation of the roller 26 with reference to the channel 4I. The inserts 52 may also have printing thereon such as instructions for the dosage of the packaged commodity and other forms of indicia to accompany the package.

In Fig. 1 the arrangement for feeding the inserts 52 may be provided in association with the roller 26, as shown in Fig. 1, or may be provided in asociation with other of the rollers such as roller 26a. When provided as shown in Fig. 1, the inserts 52, which are either printed labels or colored transparent coated cellulose, are attached exteriorly to the strip 3. However, the inserts can be equally well fed bythe roller 26a so that they are provided internally of the strip 3 in construction of package shown in Fig. '1.

Fig. 5 illustrates the appearance of a strip of the material in course of passing through the various operations of the machine shown in Fig. 1. The section a represents a portion of the strip before reaching the rollers I1 and I3. The section b represents the subsequent portion of the Y predetermined areas.

. l strip afterhavingbeenacteduponbytherollers Il and Il, and in which the indicia characters have been marked by the oxidization process in anticipation of the formation of packag in Y The section c represents a subsequent portion of the strip after having been acted upon by the rollers 26a and 26 and in which 'the color insert hasbeen sealed to either side of the strip 3. The section d represents completcdpackage sections in which the leader strip 3 has been joined with the leader strip 3b by crimping 51 to enclose commodity articles 25 with further oxidization areas surrounding the articles to form embrlttled areas, the packaging material thus being subjected to a plural oxidization and fabrication process.

Fig. 6 represents one of the package units when detached from the strip shown in Fig. 5. It will be seen that the central indicia character 53 is surrounded by an embossed ring 54. '111e entire surface of the strip 3 within the ring 54 is characterized by the color of the insert l2 thereunder, as may be seen in the sectional view of Fig.- 7. However, the ring 54 and the character 53 have both been produced by an oxidization treatment but, since the character 53 was produced independently of the insert 52, it will be a color different from that of the ring 54. Thus, it willbe seen how it is possible to produce different color effects by the ozidizing process even while using one color of insert. The sectional view of Fig. 'I shows how the various materials are related to eachother with respect to the commodity package. It will be noted that the insert 52 is smaller than the commodity 25 and does not obscure a viewing of the same through the transparent wall of the leader strip 3.

In another modification of the invention, continuous strips of colored insert material may be employed. Rollers 5l, 55, 6I and 6I are mounted in suitable relation with the strips 3 and 3b for cooperation therewith in a feeding process. For example, continuous insert strips 3d and 3e may be fed in juxtaposition with the strips 3b and 3 by means of rollers 58 and 59. Such strips may be of colored material, may be of the same width as strip 3b or 3, or of a diierent width. These strips 3d and 3e can be of colored coated cellulose material, paper, foil, or similar materials for. producing various optical effects in combination with the transparent regenerated cellulose packaging material. Similarly, strips 31' and 3c can be fedin juxtaposition with leader strip 3 by with respect to the insert 52, and gives a particularly pleasing color effect.

to the foregoing except as may be pointed out in the appended claims.

- tion. I do not therefore, desire to limit myself CFI 1. Packaging apparatus comprising a plurality oi means each for supplying one' of at least three separate layers of packaging material into superposed-relation to the other layers, means for feeding a commodity between an intermediate layer and one of the outermost layers, and means for Joining at least the two outermost layers lto each other and said intermediate layer to the other of said outermost layers to produce a commodityenclosing envelope.

2. Packaging apparatus comprising means for supplying continuous strips of packaging material in superposed relation to each other, means for successively feeding and securing insert units to the side oi one of said strips that faces the other strip, means for depositing a commodity article between each of said inserts and said second-mentioned strips, and means for joining said strips at points beyond the boundaries ot said inserts to form commodity enclosing envelopes.

3. Packaging apparatus in accordance with claim 1 including a reservoir for insert units, which units form said intermediate layer of ma.-5 terial and wherein the last-named means comprises heating and crimping rollers for heating and crimping said layers, and means for effect- 0 ing a transfer of said units from said reservoir to a point intermediate said rollers.

5. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1 including a reservoir for individual inserts which form said intermediate layer, a pair of complementary rotatable rollers, means for feeding the second-mentioned outer layer in strip formation between said rollers, one of said rollers being positioned in proximity to said reservoir, and a pneumatic arrangement including said roller for enabling said roller to pick up one insert from said reservoir and bring the same into position in engagement with said other roller to attach said insert to said strip material, said pneumatic means including a valve arrangement for automatically releasing said insert from a held position after being brought into engagement by said roller with said strip material.

LEROY L. SALFISBERG. 

